work from dawn to dusk; toil tirelessly
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesidiom
to work from early morning until late at night; to toil tirelessly
Used to praise someone's diligence and hard work. Often describes farmers, laborers, or anyone with a demanding work schedule. The variant 起早摸黑 is synonymous.
Wèi为
le了
gōng供
hái孩
zi子
shàng上
xué学
，
zhè这
duì对
fū夫
qī妻
qǐ起
zǎo早
tān贪
hēi黑
de地
gōng工
zuò作
。
To put their child through school, this couple works from dawn to dusk.
Chuàng创
yè业
chū初
qī期
，
tā他
měi每
tiān天
dōu都
qǐ起
zǎo早
tān贪
hēi黑
，
fēi非
cháng常
xīn辛
kǔ苦
。
In the early days of starting his business, he toiled from morning till night every day.
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Nóng农
mín民
men们
qǐ起
zǎo早
tān贪
hēi黑
de地
zài在
tián田
lǐ里
gàn干
huó活
。
The farmers work in the fields from early morning until dark.